User reviews

This film essentially centers around four people living in Seoul, with the first one being a struggling writer named "Hyo-Seop" (Kim Eui-sung) who has been in a relationship with a woman by the name of "Min Jae" (Eun-sook Cho) for two years. And although she loves him very much, Hyo-Seop doesn't feel the same way toward her as he is carrying on a romantic relationship with a married woman named "Bo Gyeong" (Eung-Kyung Lee). For her part, Bo Gyeong also loves Hyo-Seop, to the point that she even refuses to sleep with her husband, "Dong-seok" (Song Kang-ho). At least, that is what she tells Hyo-Seop. Needless to say, Dong-seok has become suspicion that his wife is having an affair and, in an act of desperation, has a one-night stand with a prostitute--and things quickly go downhill from that point on. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an interesting film for the most part, due mainly to the provocative plot and fine acting all around. Admittedly, there were a couple of scenes of a sexual nature that viewers should probably be warned about ahead of time. So, this isn't a film for general audiences and viewer discretion is advised. Having said that, I thought that this was an entertaining film for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Having never watched a Hong Sang Su film, I did not know what to expect as I tore the cellophane off of this DVD. After having watched this film, I am still not sure what to think of it. I was intrigued at first because I like novels and movies about writers, and the character Hyo Seob sums up what it is to be a struggling writer who at one point in his career was not only a successful writer, but also a university lecturer. However, it seems that although he is poor in monetary means he is rich in love. He in fact has two women who love him: A 24 year old former co-worker and a very attractive married woman. However, even with these strings of affection, Hyo Seob still loses control and repeatedly gets drunk which leads to not only physical harm, but also damages his already stagnate career. The only thing that seems to give Hyo Seob even moderately happy is that the married woman, Bo Kyeong, has ceased having sexual relations with her husband which gives him sole possession of at least that.

Bo Kyeong comes off to be a very unhappy woman. There is no affection between her and her husband and the only glimmers of light in her life centers around Hyo Seob, who is "cheating" on her with a young woman 11 years his junior.

Dong Wu, Bo Kyeong's husband, spends most of his time working. He tries to keep a cool facade, but a few times in the film his crafted mask breaks. Because he is no longer having sex with his wife, Dong Wu looks to prostitutes to fill his desires. While on one trip he has sex with a prostitute and does not use a condom which causes much tension throughout the remainder of the film.

The young woman who is dating Hyo Seob, in my opinion, is the saddest character in the film. She gives all of her love to a man, who although a tad affectionate, seems to think of her as little more than a vessel for his sexual desires and a proof reader. She works a number of small jobs just to make ends meet. Even doing voices for pornographic cartoons. One of the bleakest moments in the film is when she goes to see Hyo Seob on his birthday and Bo Kyeong is there. This scene ends with Hyo Seob slapping her viciously several times while she continues to state how much she loves him.

This is definitely not a light hearted film. It is quite heavy and slow, but quite poignant.

Having watched Hong Sang-Soo's three first movies in a row, I see that he has the potential of making quite different movies with the same technique. He shows us different characters one at a time that is somehow related to some of the other and the power of it lies in how he can make it look so naturally and casual and still craft a story around it. The small episodes are sometimes so strikingly close to real life that you wonder how they work at the set to make the actors be so much themselves.

This first of his movies is his most tragic. The writer (I wonder how much he bases his characters on himself as the writer/director is quite a recurring theme for him) is endlessly full of him self, leading a miserable existence that pulls the two (married) women who cares for him somewhere bleak. His behaviour is provoking and with no respect, but he still gets loved. Something he cynically use for sexual release.

Watching Hong Sang Soo's first film "Daijiga umule pajinnal" is going to be an extremely uneasy visual experience for all casual as well as average viewers.This is because one will surely find it hard to understand whether the film is a portrait of a failed artist or an absurdist tale of highly unusual,bizarre human relationships.I managed to see this film at the campus of Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines at Lyon in company of a friend from South Korea.She made the viewing interesting for me with her comic remarks as being a Korean person,she is definitely more familiar with intricacies of Korean cultural life.This key association with Korean psyche is needed to understand what this film stands for.A word about our film's failed artist.He is rather controversial,bit moody and picks up fights too often with his colleagues.This is something which might be true of many talented artists all over the world.A different view of this film might concern Hong Sang Soo's observation that his film is a complex tale of human relationships as all the characters of his films are in troubled relationships without ascertaining what made them enter into them.

I'm going to have to agree with a previous reviewer who called this "Hong Sang-Soo's first is his best" and add the words "to date". And if you are someone who has only watched his latest films (post 2010), you are in for a treat and will also understand what all the fuss is about this brilliant director. Once again, he proves that the simple the approach, the better the outcome. I consider myself a Korean film buff, to the point where I traveled to Seoul to get a first hand feel of the people and the environment I have seen in so many films. This film, though relatively old, captures more of what I saw while in Seoul than all the recent hollywood-esque films, which companies like CJ entertainment have been churning out. Maybe that's because, in part, plastic surgery wasn't the in-thing in Seoul in 1996. I would love to ask the director how he goes about casting his extras because I just can't figure out how he gets them to behave so naturally in front of the camera. No spoilers here....Go watch the film and enjoy!!

The magnificent plot about an enervated author, who has cheated on two women, has been made up in absolutely silent atmosphere. The director Hong kept his temper about debut obsession. This movie totally looks like made by well-experienced artisan. And all lively character's lines make audience be immersed in those. Fantastic! Don't miss it.